


bonds old and new

by aizensosuke



Series: ByaRen Week 2018 [8]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Cheesy, Established Relationship, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Happy Ending, It says Abarai Ichika but she's a Kuchiki in this, Kid Fic, M/M, Marriage, Shinigami/Zanpakutou Bond, Trans Character, Trans Kuchiki Byakuya, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 04:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17037032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aizensosuke/pseuds/aizensosuke
Summary: renji and byakuya muse on their past together, their son has an admirer, and their daughter claims her zanpakuto.





	bonds old and new

The sweet scent of cherry blossoms is heavy in the air of the Kuchiki Clan family gardens; Renji leans against the bark of such a tree, legs spread to accommodate Byakuya’s body between them, his husband’s back pressed against his chest and his own arms wrapped around Byakuya’s waist. They have a rare day off in this time of peace, a testament to how well the Gotei Thirteen have been working to ensure that Soul Society becomes a place of peace after everything they have all gone through with one another. The proof is in how light the air is, how the children playing in the gardens can laugh so carelessly.

Niko is growing taller than her brother, already strong through the shoulders like Renji is, a stick in one hand, leaning against her shoulder; an echo of how Renji holds Zabimaru. With her head thrown back and her posture so straight, she looks like any other shinigami even though she is far from old enough to join the Academy just yet. In contrast, Touma is shorter and slimmer, Byakuya’s delicate features showing through in his quiet nature and his mannerisms. He’s  _ shy, _ hiding behind his sister from the two invaders to their home.

Ichika and Kazui have chosen to team up as one, battling Renji’s children with their own zanpakuto sticks. Niko has proven more than capable of holding them both off, immensely proud of herself for this, head thrown back and shoulders straight, a smirk on her face.

She reminds him of himself so much that it shocks Renji to his core to see it.

“We’re going to have another one of you running rampant through the Gotei Thirteen before long,” Byakuya muses, and Renji makes a noise though he knows it’s the truth.

While Touma is still undecided about who he wants to become— something Byakuya allows strictly, not wanting to push their son in any direction against his will— Niko has made it clear who she wants to become and the battle she wants to fight.

“She’s going to be a hell of a shinigami,” Renji says, and Byakuya hums in agreement. “Wonder how she’s gonna do in the Academy. The Academy… The first place I met you. What are we going to do when she brings home her shikai? Or her  _ bankai? _ ”

“I remember the first time I was introduced to your bankai,” Byakuya muses.

The words are sobering; Renji presses his lips together. He would rather not think about that day, the way he was ravaged at the hands of the man in his arms, at the millions of blades of Senbonzakura. For most of his life, Renji sought to reach Byakuya. He wanted to be stronger than him, and he wanted to defeat him to prove he was better. In this way, Byakuya was his eternal inspiration. Falling in love with him was never part of the plan, as was none of this, but Renji knows that the best-laid plans are not always a guarantee.

This is a rare moment where he thinks it may be better that he was wrong.

“I didn’t stand a chance against you.” The memory still makes something in his gut twist, never having felt so helpless in his life. Even at his strongest— then, of course, not now— the difference between them was truly too great. “The monkey who reached for the moon but sank like a fool because it was a mere reflection in the water.”

“I’ll never understand how you don’t hate me for the things I’ve said to you, but that especially,” Byakuya murmurs, and Renji’s arms tighten around him reflexively.

“You weren’t wrong. It was a very similar situation.” Renji rests his chin on Byakuya’s shoulder, breathing him in. The gentle warmth of his reiatsu blending so neatly with Renji’s own and the harmony of Zabimaru and Senbonzakura, their energies a constant and sweet bond that touched his heart when he first discovered it.

Byakuya turns to look up at him, grey eyes solemn. “And yet you caught me.”

“That I did.” Not in the way he originally planned, and not in the manner he thought he would. “My fangs reached you and even sunk in. You’ll never be rid of me now.”

“It is, perhaps, for the best. The moon is lonely in the sky.” Byakuya’s hand comes to rest on top of his own and Renji bites down on his lip to hide a smile.

The sound of a squeal has them both looking up and his eyes widen slightly when he sees Touma and Kazui have broken away from the girls, Kazui giving chase while Touma stays just a step ahead of him. He’s there, and then he’s gone; Renji blinks twice at the spot and tilts his head, spotting Touma just perched on the edge of the garden wall, looking just as surprised at himself as Renji feels. When did he learn to shunpo?

“Yoruichi.” Byakuya’s eyes narrow. “She’s been teaching him horrid things, I see.”

“Of course she has, honorary aunt and all.” And of course, she was teaching Touma how to do something she could do better than Byakuya. Fuck, they wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Kazui stares at the spot Touma was before swiveling his head, pointing his stick. “You cheated! You know you’re not supposed to shunpo away when we’re fighting.”

“I don’t  _ like _ to fight,” Touma says in a tone that says it’s more of a reminder than anything, and then he’s gone again, returning to a spot not far from where Kazui stands— but at his back this time. “Yoruichi oba-san said that if you want to catch me, you have to keep up.”

Of course, Kazui spins around, brandishing his stick but missing by a meter. “That’s not fair! Tousan doesn’t know how to do shunpo like Yoruichi does.”

“Who said anything about fair?” Touma asks him, and Renji snorts at the tone of his son’s voice, the way he lifts his chin. Kuchiki through and through. “Oba-san made me promise her not to let  _ anyone _ catch me. You have to do it on your own or not at all.”

Byakuya raises an eyebrow. “What has she been telling our son? What is this about?”

“Oh.” Renji looks between the two boys and understanding dawns on him; Yoruichi has been teaching him to shunpo for a reason. “It’s called playing hard to get, Byakuya.”

In his arms, Byakuya tenses. “You are not being serious with me at this moment.”

“I am,” Renji tells him, and Byakuya lets his head fall back on a loud groan.

There have been suspicions, of course. Ichika and Niko got along with each other growing up, so Renji is hardly surprised that they often shut themselves away from the boys just to spend time with one another. Both of them are the rough and tumble type, Ichika picking up more of Rukia’s personality than Orihime’s and Niko being so like him that for just a moment, it makes him think back to Rukongai, to him and Rukia leaning on each other. The thought sits warm in the pit of his stomach and he chuckles softly to himself.

In contrast, Touma and Kazui have always been hit or miss. The two did not get along well when they were younger, Kazui too much like Ichigo and Touma always too much like Byakuya for there to be no friction. Their personalities clash; Touma is quiet and proper and carries himself like a proper Kuchiki while Kazui has so much of Ichigo’s brash nature that Renji often wonders if he got  _ anything _ from Ishida, or if he is fully Ichigo.

(He knows better, of course; he’s seen the boy manifest his Quincy powers before.)

But sometime between last spring and this spring, the two have been getting along far better and spending far more time with one another.

“A Kurosaki in my family line,” Byakuya says, his voice grave. “Of course he would do this.”

Renji chuckles and rubs his hands over Byakuya’s stomach, pressing a kiss against the side of his neck. “Kazui’s a cute kid, at least. Not  _ quite _ as rowdy as his father is.”

“I hope he picks up more of Ishida’s traits as he grows older, provided he does not also pick up Ishida’s distaste for most shinigami.” Byakuya frowns, and Renji can only laugh.

“Imagine if he was more like Chad,” Renji offers, and Byakuya’s face softens. “There.”

“That would be lovely,” Byakuya agrees. “Oh, look, there they go again. His shunpo is actually quite good though I’m not overly thrilled at the fact Yoruichi’s done this.”

“She’s just making sure our boy gets the best.” Renji hesitates, resting his chin on Byakuya’s shoulder. “Which I guess means he really did take after us if he’s interested in Kazui, which is all good and fine with me. I just want him to be happy.”

“Of course,” Byakuya agrees, “and we’ll shield him from my family if we need to do so.”

Touma is always several steps ahead of Kazui even without shunpo, a testament to how much of Byakuya’s personal training he has been keeping up with. While Touma may remain uncertain about becoming a shinigami, he wants to learn certain techniques, honing his kido skills alongside Byakuya, a feat for any child of his age.

Niko and Ichika join them under the tree, Niko gesturing broadly with her stick. “You have to ask Yoruichi oba-san to teach me how to shunpo like that, Touchan.”

Byakuya nods slowly. “I can do that. Though you could just as easily ask her yourself.”

“I’ve been  _ busy, _ ” Niko insists as she sits down, setting her stick aside. “I think I can  _ almost _ solidify into my own zanpakuto. Imagine having one before Academy!”

Renji winces. “You sure you should be playing around with something that serious?”

“It’s not playing. Here, look.” Niko crosses her legs beneath her. “Just watch me go.”

Ichika edges her away around Renji and Byakuya, peeking at her cousin from around them. “No offense, but the last time you did this, I could have lost an arm.”

“It was  _ not _ that bad.” Niko scowls at her. “Besides, I swear I could hear a voice.”

_ A voice? _ “Whose voice did you hear? Someone calling out to you?”

“It was  _ going _ to be my zanpakuto but I lost focus.” Niko throws her hands up, as if asking for total silence. “Watch. I’m going to do it this time. I’m going to get my zanpakuto.”

Byakuya clears his throat. “You shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself—”

“I’m not.” But Niko presses her hands together and squeezes her eyes shut, and her reiatsu flares so suddenly and wildly that Renji is almost thrown back by the force of it.

“Let me at least contain it,” Byakuya says, and he can almost feel the change when his husband does just that, carefully containing their daughter’s rampant reiatsu so that it doesn’t risk harming anyone. “Focus on that voice if you so desire, Niko, but don’t let yourself get hurt in the process. Focus on that voice and on your reiatsu.”

Are they doing this? Renji supposes they must be. “Easy, kiddo. Not too much, not too little. Just enough. And take it in slowly and work on honing it down. You aren’t going for anything fancy, just a simple sword. Zanpakuto only look different in shikai.”

Niko nods, showing that she’s listening, her hands slowly parting. “It’s… It’s a lot.”

“Most shinigami don’t have a proper zanpakuto until after Academy for a reason,” Byakuya tells her, but Niko only scoffs and Renji can feel when she buckles down. “But you’re willing to try, so we’re going to coach you. Can you hear the voice? What is it like?”

“It’s a man’s voice, and he sounds sad.” Niko’s brow furrows and her hands quiver just slightly, something… Something glinting between them for just a moment. “He’s been hurt, I think. Someone hurt him, but I can hear him calling out to me.”

Renji squeezes Byakuya’s waist. “That might be your zanpakuto. Reach for the voice.”

He watches her stretch a hand out and shakes his head; he didn’t mean it  _ literally _ but whatever works for her. “He sounds like he’s underwater. He’s very far away. But I’m a pretty good swimmer and I think I can pull him above the water.”

“Water,” Byakuya muses. “You might have a water-based zanpakuto. Reach for him if you can, but don’t allow yourself to be drawn beneath the waves. It’s dangerous.”

There are a precious few shinigami, Renji knows, that are prodigies. Who achieve zanpakuto early, who reach shikai and bankai and just keep going to untold heights. When he sees a flicker of something near his daughter’s hand, his heart leaps into his throat and he sits up straighter, his mouth falling open at the sight. It almost…

It almost looks like the hilt of a sword appearing in the curl of her fingers.

“He’s creepy looking,” Niko announces, and Renji frowns. It wouldn’t be the first time that a zanpakuto has been strange; he’s known strange ones. Wabisuke. Kazeshini. Ashisogi Jizo. “But he’s sad. And I’ve… I’m  _ almost _ there, I just need to reach a little more.”

The strain is evident in her voice and in her reiatsu and Renji is about to tell her to back off when he feels Zabimaru reach out to him.  _ Let her reach for him. If this is meant to be her destiny, you cannot keep her from it. We will greet our new zanpakuto accordingly. _

_ Agreed, _ Senbonzakura chimes in.  _ It is not always a pretty process, but it is necessary. Let her discover for herself the spirit that is meant to be her partner. _

Renji bites his tongue and nods, sitting back to watch his daughter strain for her sword.

Her reiatsu wavers and she grits her teeth, pushing forward. Pushing hard enough that Byakuya has to tighten down his hold on her, containing all of that energy so that it doesn’t hurt anyone. Touma and Kazui creep closer, Touma just half a step behind Kazui as it’s Kazui who knows how to fight, who has power to draw on already. Ichika leans against Renji’s side, her mouth hanging open as  _ something _ appears in Niko’s hand.

The sword is broken. Renji can see the jagged hilt of the blade and his gut churns.

“Niko,” Byakuya says, his voice urgent, “this is not safe. You need to let go—”

“No! I’m right there.” Niko grasps the hilt of the zanpakuto and Renji wants to stop her, wants to take her shoulders in hand and tell her to stop. “I’ve got him. I’ve  _ got _ him.”

The determination in her voice keeps him still and he watches with bated breath.

Byakuya could easily stop her if he wanted to but instead he waits, watching with wide eyes, his breath coming ragged and uncertain. He’s afraid, they  _ both _ are, but Niko has her sword by the hilt and stopping her now would only ruin everything she’s trying to achieve. And slowly, oh so slowly, the broken blade begins to extend outward, curving into the graceful true blade of a zanpakuto in unreleased form. Healing from the damage.

Renji digs his hands into the grass and watches her, and when the reiatsu around her finally fades, Niko is holding a zanpakuto in both of her clenched fists.

“I did it,” she breathes, and she looks  _ exhausted, _ her eyelids heavy and her hair a mess, but the way she hugs the hilt to her chest is worth it. “I saved him after all.”

Byakuya drops his reiatsu shield and moves toward her quickly, drawing her into his arms, careful of the blade in her hands. “You did it. You found your zanpakuto just like that.”

“You did it!” Touma hurries over to them, resting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s beautiful.”

“Well done,” Renji breathes, slumping against the tree trunk. Then: “Wait, saved?”

“He was dying, I think. In the water. He was barely there at all but I found him and I brought him back. He’d been there for a long time. Waiting for someone to reach out to him.” Niko stands on unsteady legs and holds the sword up, the sunlight glinting off of the blade. A slow, true smile spreads across her lips, and Renji commits it to memory because it’s the most beautiful smile she has ever worn. “I’m lucky to have a strong partner.”

Touma steps closer to her, touching the blade with careful fingers, avoiding its sharpest edge. “What’s his name? You’ve already learned it if you’ve heard his voice, haven’t you?”

“I have!” Niko brandishes her sword proudly, stepping out from beneath the tree so she and her zanpakuto are bathed in golden sunlight that glows on both of them. “He told me when I finally took him by the hand to pull him out of the water. I can probably release his shikai, but not yet. I’m way too tired to try pulling that off.”

Byakuya cocks his head to the side. “What’s his name, then?”

_ A familiar face after all, _ Zabimaru muses.

Senbonzakura thrums in agreement.  _ Such a thing was bound to happen to one of Kuchiki blood. The bond of the true Clan runs deep inside of her, after all. _

“A familiar face,” Renji murmurs, and Byakuya nods. He heard it, too.

Niko turns toward them and swings her zanpakuto easily through the air. “Welcome home,” she says, bringing the blade closer to her face, her gaze focusing on the gleaming length of it and for her zanpakuto alone, “Muramasa.”

The answering chime of reiatsu is all Renji needs to feel to know who that blade used to belong to. Byakuya opens his mouth, as if to object, then simply closes his mouth and stands, walking to where their daughter stands, wrapping his hand around the blade.

“This zanpakuto carries a heavy and dark history on his shoulders,” he says, and Niko blinks up at him, confused. “But I think… I think you can be the proper partner that he always wanted in life. A master he could be proud to fight alongside.”

Beaming, Niko bounces on the balls of her feet. “I’ll do my best for us both, Muramasa!”

Renji stands to join them— his husband, his son, his daughter, and her zanpakuto— and wraps his arm around Byakuya’s shoulders.

The excitement never ends with their family. He hopes it never will.

**Author's Note:**

> listen you just do not know how sad i am about muramasa 25/8 so he's niko's zanpakuto because he deserves a kuchiki that can actually idk take care of him and respect him also THIS WEEK IS FINALLY DONE. YAY. like a month late but it's better late than never right?
> 
> "does this mean the filler is canon to this 'verse" i didn't think that hard about it and neither should you


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